Meet Finley Thompson, Grimsby Tri Club

This guy is one to watch. Finley Thompson has been smashing triathlons with Grimsby Tri Club, getting faster and stronger ready for the Isuzu Ironman 70.3 World Championships in South Africa this September. We’re so proud to be sponsoring him, and now you can get to know a little more about him too with our quick Q&A.

When did you join Grimsby Tri Club?

I have always been a member of Grimsby Tri Club and have enjoyed watching the club grow in the last couple of years. It’s great to see participation rise in triathlon locally!

How did you get into Triathlons? Have you always been a runner/swimmer/cyclist?

I actually played football until the age of 14 and then completely switched sports after watching my dad in various triathlons over the years. So to be honest I’ve not really come from either a swimming, cycling or running background. But if I had to pick one that I did more when I first started, it has to be running where I competed on the track at the middle and long distances.

What do you do to prepare for races?

At the minute I am training around 20 to 25 hours per week which consists of 5 or 6 swims, 6 or 7 rides, and 6 or 7 runs. This involves a lot of intervals and long steady runs and rides. With this amount of training I have to keep an eye on my diet, not necessarily watching the amount that I eat but making sure the things that I do eat are healthy and help with my recovery. Mostly I like to eat a lot of rice, vegetables, and fish. The beauty of this is that its healthy, quick to prepare, easy to cook and it tastes nice too!

Do you have any highlights to date?

My biggest highlight to date has got to be Ironman Edinburgh 70.3. This was my second half Ironman and with my first one in Staffordshire going wrong in places, it was great to get a good result and cross the line in a good position.

What races do you have coming up?

My next race is the 70.3 World Championships in South Africa on 2nd September. Qualification was achieved through winning my age group (18-24) in Edinburgh. It would be great to build on the performance I had in Edinburgh and be competitive on a world stage.